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Ego, pride, greed and stupidity are ugly aspects of the human species. And now we are seeing why. We need the Earth more than it needs us and it seems to be telling us so. And who can blame it? We are not an essential species. The illusion we’ve lived under for so long is finally being shattered. Scary stuff, but hardly surprising.

Lord knows I'm the last person to be mistaken as a ray of sunshine, but this article is a piece of garbage in my opinion.

Give a good P.R. person ten minutes with google, and you will have a press release about all that is right with the world and how better we are now then yesterday. I dare anyone to woe is me the state of the world today (or at least America since the article seems to equate the two) compared to period's like the Great Depression, the height of the cold war when real M.A.D. between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. seemed only a matter of when and not if... hell even the energy and inflation crisis of the 70's.

If you need some context, please read Grapes of Wrath, The Jungle or even The Ungovernable City (NY in the 60's-70's) if you want to see times when things were really spinning out of control.

There is a lot wrong today indeed, but the only thing I find insightful in the article was the use of the word "spin" in the headline.

The Presidential election is in full swing and the only thing missing here is the girl with the Daisy.

I don't think most folks need this article to realize that we aren't as better off as we were say a generation ago. With no manufacturing base, stagnant wages and ever increasing prices and the national debt the evidence is everywhere. No empire has ever progressed under these conditions and we will be no different. America has every reason to be nervous about it's economic future. Hopefully we will pay attention this election year, but it ain't gonna be pretty.

In the small town I live in, the Hummer II plant laid off, the county mental health facility laid off 120 people, and one of the largest hospitals "downsized" 30 people out of a job. The food banks also are going by new guidelines because of so many new families needing them-one bag of food per person instead of three (these are just a few examples). My brother teaches a few classes at a local college, but because he is not a tenured professor, he doesn't have insurance.

I agree with Aunty. Americans do have reasons to be nervous. I'll be voting for Obama in November, but I don't see how he can possibly fix this mess in four years.

Logged

I've never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.-Clarence Darrow

Conditions in the world as a whole are getting better but conditions in the United States are not. I was reading an article recently (sorry, but I can't find the link) that globally fewer people are starving, more people have access to healthcare and there is overall less violence. There has been a lot written lately about the troubles with the US, particularly with the economy. Fareek Zakaria has written an interesting book "The Post-American World" about the current changes in global power. Here is an excerpt: http://www.newsweek.com/id/135380

I have a hard time paying attention when such sweeping statements are made.especially in a presidential election period. On a Macro basis I would completely disagree..I think Ford ( GSO Gymrat) got it right, mostly, some conditions in many places are better and in some they are worse...I have seen first hand the flow of immigrants coming here to "better their conditions" from all kinds of specific issues from poverty to politics to justice....and from many places in the world....this is better than where they came fromI am also very aware that there are places in this country (USA) that are seeing hard times..that has always been the case...just now it is very easy for anyone to "get the word out" by the press or internet and scream about how awful it is in their particular place... so many people are having problems with economics..repo houses,cars, over limit on credit cards.etc... these are largely self imposed problems ( I know that is not a universal truth) but when you buy a $400,000 house but can only really afford a $200,000 one that is something you brought on...same problem with credit cards.....I have real empathy for the folks who have lost their jobs and are now in a financial problem..maybe the extended unemployment will help them for a while.....most food banks are run by social service agencies and churches..when there is general anxiety about the economy even the most generous people start to hold back..no real solution to that...I have lived here and in many other places around the world and whatever the current popular opinion may be there are still a lot of people who envy our living standard and political freedom... we still get thousands of immigration application from Europe, Asia Africa even Australia and South America.... we as a country need to find a rational way to deal with that issue....so, brief summary.,.be careful what you wish for....the grass is not always greener and sometimes is highly toxic....many "solutions" are worse long term that the problems they are supposed to solve.....I hear so often about the "manufacturing jobs have left...." yet every major auto make from Germany and Asia has recently built a plant here to manufacture their products..same is true of the electronics makers...even the Chinese are looking for places in this country....BTW the "prestige" auto in China is a Buick Regal sedan....they have purchased the right to make them in China..

I have to disagree with the doomsayers. Facts will show that we are by far the luckiest generation to live on the planet. Why we don't feel good about it is the real question.

If you think the world is going to hell in a handbasket, you may need to update your attitude. In his book The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse, journalist Gregg Easterbrook has gathered a formidable array of facts and figures to suggest that human beings have never had it so good on this planet — at least the 500 million human beings who are fortunate enough to live in America, Western Europe, Australia and Japan. “The creation of entire regions of the world in which most people are well-off — in which the typical person lives what all previous generations considered a dream — is without precedent in history,” says Easterbrook:

“Public health is improving by nearly every measure…. Doomsday claims to the contrary, environmental trends are nearly all positive…. Drinking, smoking, and most forms of drug use are declining. Teen pregnancy is declining. Welfare rolls are shrinking without increase in poverty. Women, immigrants, and minority group members are acquiring ever-larger slices of national pies. The divorce rate has stopped increasing. Personal freedom has never been greater. Book sales hit new records almost every year. Movies and television may at times be excruciating, but otherwise art and culture have never been more active, interesting or diverse. Nearly all forms of death due to accident are declining. Crime has declined so rapidly that the fall has been almost eerie…. ”

I'm not a doomsayer and I think that the US is one of the best places to live in the world for numerous reasons. I do think that financially we are entering a rough patch and part of the reason is because other countries are doing so much better and have such growing economies. Also we have made some stupid decisions recently such as... oh... starting a hugely expensive and prolonged military campaign while simultaneous cutting taxes and borrowing money from other countries to finance it.

I think GSO & Fearless (edited to add Nick as well) brought a better context to what I wanted to express.

The issue I think is that as the standards of living for the whole world rise, there will be effects on other countries (such as the U.S.) in what we previously had claimed as ours or couldn't perceive as ever being lost.

Manufacturing is a good example.

I am not minimizing the issues in the U.S. (and anyone needs to look at my med/cost issues to appreciate I understand this on a personal level,) but I do think the notion of things are spinning out of control or that the world has gone mad is more election year hysterics then reality.